(Paris) Grigor Dimitrov (17e world) qualified for the semi-finals of the Masters 1000 in Paris for the second time, after 2019, by thwarting the hopes of qualifying for the Masters of Hubert Hurkacz (11e), beaten 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on Friday.
For a place in the final, Dimitrov will face either Stefanos Tsitsipas (6e), or Karen Khachanov (15e).
This defeat for Hurkacz almost wipes out the Pole’s last hopes of qualifying for the Masters which will bring together the eight best players of the season in Turin (Italy) in mid-November. Only two of the eight sesames remain to be awarded. Alexander Zverev and Holger Rune are currently in the best position to pocket them.
Dimitrov, for his part, confirms his good form at the moment. The 32-year-old Bulgarian notably made a semi-final in Chengdu (China), a quarter-final in Beijing and a semi-final at the Masters 1000 in Shanghai (won by Hurkacz) during the autumn Asian tour. During his course in Paris, he defeated world No.3 Daniil Medvedev in the second round.
Dimitrov has already played a semi-final in the Parisian venue, in 2019. He lost against Novak Djokovic.
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Semi-final matches were held in challenging tournaments on January 16 ATP 250 in Adelaide (Australia) and Auckland (New Zealand).
Tomas Machac (Czech Republic, ATP 35) and Hugo Humbert (France, ATP 36) will contest the cup in Australia. In the semifinals, Tomas beat Tommy Paul (USA, ATP 21) and Hugo beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Spain, AYP 15).
Tomas will reach the third final in his career. He has a trophy named after him; He became the 500 meter champion in Acapulco last February.
Humbert reached the 11th final of his career and will look to win his eighth trophy, his first since February 2025 when he won the title in Marseille.
Makhach and Humbert have only played each other once before. In 2024, Hugo defeated Tomas in the semi-finals of the competition in Tokyo.
The final in Adelaide will take place on January 16 and will start at around 06:30 Kyiv time.
ATP 250 Adelaide. Difficult. 1/2 final
Alejandro Davidovic Fokina [1] – Hugo Humbert – 3:6, 7:5, 6:7 (4:7) Tomas Machac [8] – Tommy Paul [2] – 2:6, 6:3, 6:3
Video review of semi-final matches in Adelaide
In New Zealand, Jakub Menšik (Czech Republic, ATP 18) and Sebastian Baez (Argentina, ATP 39) will compete for the cup. Jakub defeated Fabian Marozsana (Hungary, ATP 18) and Baez defeated Marcos Giron (USA, ATP 60) in the semifinals.
As it rained in Auckland on Thursday, both Jakub and Sebastian played two matches on Friday. In the quarterfinals, Menchik defeated Giovanni Mpeshi-Perricart (France, ATP 63) and Baez defeated Ben Shelton (USA, ATP 8).
Menshik will make his third final in the Tour and compete for his second trophy. Yakub became the Masters champion last season by beating Novak Djokovic in the final in Miami.
Baez extended his hitting streak to seven games. He won three matches in the United Cup before the Auckland tournament. For the Argentinian, this will be his 12th career final and only his second on hard court.
Sebastian and Jakub had never played with each other before. The final in New Zealand will take place on January 17 at 03:00 Kyiv time.
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
(Melbourne) They have triumphed at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the United States Open, but never in Melbourne: Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek return to the Australian Open on Sunday in search of the only Grand Slam title still missing from their record.
Winning the first Grand Slam of the season is “my main goal this season,” the 22-year-old Spaniard said on Friday.
Winning the four major world tennis tournaments would be “incredible” in itself, but achieving it at just 22 years old would be “even better,” Alcaraz insisted at a press conference.
Author of an exceptional season in 2025 (eight titles), the Spaniard will be particularly scrutinized after parting ways in mid-December to the general surprise of his trainer Juan Carlos Ferrero.
“I would have liked to be able to continue” with Alcaraz, said Ferrero, under whose leadership “Carlitos” won his six Grand Slam titles.
“We closed this chapter by mutual agreement,” replied Alcaraz on Friday in Melbourne, ensuring good relations with Ferrero.
PHOTO VINCE CALIGIURI, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Carlos Alcaraz
Now coached only by Samuel Lopez, who joined his team at the end of 2024, Alcaraz has not played any preparation tournaments for the Australian Open.
However, he will need to be at the top of his form to triumph in Melbourne, where he has never made it past the quarter-finals and where his great rival Jannik Sinner (2e), double title holder, is waiting for him.
The Italian skipped the Davis Cup finals in November to have an extra week of preparation for the 2026 season, while Alcaraz was nursing a right leg injury.
The two ogres of the circuit, who faced each other in the final of Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the United States Open in 2025, already crossed swords on Saturday in South Korea, during a lucrative exhibition won in two sets by the 22-year-old Spaniard.
“It was a pretty relaxed match,” Sinner said. “In exhibition […] “you’re not as tense” as in an official match, the Italian clarified.
Gauff aims for regularity
Ten-time winner of the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic will try once again in Melbourne to conquer a 25e major trophy which would make him the only record holder for Grand Slam titles, ahead of Australian Margaret Court (24 titles).
Triple finalist in Melbourne, the Russian Daniil Medvedev (12e) is also one of the contenders given his clear recovery in form in recent months, which allowed him to win the ATP 250 in Almaty in October and in Brisbane at the beginning of January.
In the women’s draw, if the world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka advances as the big favorite after having played the last three finals of the Australian Open, her runner-up Iga Swiatek (2e) has a first opportunity this year to win the only major trophy missing from his collection.
PHOTO AARON FAVILA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Aryna Sabalenka
A possible title in Melbourne would be “a dream come true”, but “I don’t wake up every morning thinking about it” either, the Pole qualified.
Finalist in three of the four Grand Slams in 2025 and winner of the last United States Open, Sabalenka started the season by winning the WTA 500 in Brisbane for the second year in a row.
But “it’s not just Iga or me,” warned the Belarusian, very comfortable on hard courts. “There is also Coco” Gauff (3e), which deprived her of a first title at Roland-Garros in June, the Kazakhstani Elena Rybakina (5e), the American Jessica Pegula (6e)…
Without forgetting Amanda Anisimova (4e), finalist at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2025.
“I am aware of the expectations, but I use them to motivate myself,” said the American.
Title holder in Melbourne, her compatriot Madison Keys anticipates that she will be “very nervous” when she takes the court. “But on the other hand, I have never been relaxed entering the court in the first round of a Grand Slam,” she put it into perspective.
Finally, for Coco Gauff, the objective will be above all to be “more regular” from one tournament to another in 2026, particularly on serve.
“I think that the more stable my level of service is, the more regular my results will become,” anticipated the double Grand Slam winner.
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Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev said he has set a goal to win the tournament twice in the same city, but is currently focused on competing at the Australian Open.
Medvedev won the tournament in Brisbane, Australia in January. This is the Russian’s 22nd ATP singles title; he won all the tournaments in different cities. Earlier, Medvedev jokingly asked the ATP to expand the geography of cities, since there were few tournaments left in which he had not won.
“Now my goal is to win a second title in a city where I have already won. This is a clear goal. I say it out loud. I’m not sure that I will achieve it, but I will do my best to achieve it. We are in Melbourne, so I hope to reach 23 titles before I win a second somewhere else,” Reuters quoted Medvedev as saying.
Last August, it became known that Medvedev had ended his long-term collaboration with coach Gilles Cervara, with whom he had worked since 2017. Swede Thomas Johansson and Australian Rohan Goetzke are currently working with the former world number one.
– Of course, this was an important decision in my life related to Gilles. (After the US Open) there was a turning point. This helped me a lot. I really enjoyed working with Thomas and Rohan.
At first we had, so to speak, a trial period until the end of the season. But I’m happy working with them. I think they also like working with me, so we decided to continue. I hope this will be a long and successful cooperation,” he added.
Medvedev, seeded 11th, will face Dutchman Jesper de Jong in the first round of the Australian Open.
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Alejandro Davidovic Fokina [1] – 
